Episode 27 A joyful noise
by KayDee35
Summary: Complete episode with added scenes to make it a good read. Script consulted as well.


FF_1755299_

 **A joyful noise**

xxx

Dedicated to Henry Darrow and Cameron Mitchell,

the two wonderful actors

who made Manolito Montoya and Buck Cannon

come to life.

xxx

Life was quiet on the High Chaparral. Neither Apaches nor bandits had put in an appearance for weeks. At first Big John had not dared to trust this peace, but after some time he had relaxed. He had relieved Buck and Mano of the pretty boring duty of herding cattle and had given them another task. Property tax was due soon, and Big John wanted to know exactly how many square feet of land he owned. If he could not give a detailed account, the acreage would be estimated. But the rancher had vowed that he would not pay those cutthroats of tax collectors a single penny more than he absolutely had to.

For three weeks now Buck and Manolito were busy mapping and measuring the land. Buck wrote down the measurements on the map while Mano walked his feet off. John had told them that they had to stick with their chosen task because the length of the steps had to remain the same throughout. But they were both satisfied and were in no hurry. They felt more like being on holidays. At dawn they rode out to start their shift. At noon they held a siesta on the pastures. It was the height of summer and too hot at noon even for such light work. From late afternoon to sunset they continued their survey.

They had just gone back to work after their siesta. Buck was sitting on a stone, scrutinising his map. Mano was walking down the boundary line. "Fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty paces, Buck," he told his brother-in-law, stopping at the mark.

"Six O paces." Buck wrote down the number. "Looks like we map out a whole new world," he joked.

Manolito laughed. When he saw that Buck had finished writing, he walked on, counting his steps. "Uno dos tres-"

Mano took the next step when suddenly a rattlesnake rose in the grass and rattled in warning. Buck looked up from his map in alarm. He saw his friend dropping away from the snake, but the reptile reared up again. Buck threw down pencil and paper and rushed to his brother-in-law, drawing his revolver on the run. He barely looked at the snake when he shot it. Buck dropped to his knees beside his best friend and pushed Mano's trouser leg up. On the calf right above the ankle he saw the bite. Two needle-sharp teeth had broken the skin and had injected their venom.

"Oh, damn," Buck said tightly. The wound had already started to swell. "I told you not to wear them boots with this low top." Mano should have done the writing and he should have walked himself, Buck thought. John had given them this task because he knew that they would not be caught unawares by Apaches or bandits. But nobody had taken accidents into account.

Moaning, Manolito gripped his leg. "I have always had a weakness for style over practically," he replied just as tightly. He handed Buck the stick which he used as a marker when he had to leave his work for a moment. Buck took off his bandana. He wrapped it around Manolito's upper thigh, then tied the stick to the ends of the bandana to use it as a clamp and restrict the blood circulation. He worriedly gave his brother-in-law a once-over. Mano was sweating already.

"I got to get you back to the ranch," Buck decided.

His best friend shook his head. "I don't think I can make it, compadre."

Their survey had brought them to the westernmost edge of the ranch; the Apache territory began right behind the boundary line. The High Chaparral was a good riding hour away from this spot. But Mano would be hard pressed to stay in the saddle for even ten minutes.

Buck's heart skipped a beat. He began to sweat as well. "I can't let you stay out here in this hot sun. You'll be frying like lard," he exclaimed in dismay.

"Oh, muchas gracias," Manolito griped.

Buck pulled the stick taut. He put his arm around Mano's waist and lifted his brother-in-law to his feet. "Come on now."

The horses were tethered to a nearby bush. Leaning heavily on Buck, Mano limped to Mackadoo.

Buck helped his friend into the saddle. While he mounted his own horse, he frantically searched for an alternative. "Mano," he said finally. "There is an old adobe shack about half a mile east of here. Do you think you can make it that far?"

The last time he had been there, the roof had been leaking, and the outer wall around the house and the courtyard had been partly missing. But the main house had still been intact.

Manolito squinted in pain. "Do I have a choice?" he gasped.

Buck shook his head. "Nope."

"Then I will make it," Mano reassured his friend.

"Once you get there, you just lay down. I don't want you to do nothing. I'm gonna bring Vaquero to doctor that bite."

Mano nodded.

"Now, you unloosen that tourniquet every few minutes," Buck admonished his best friend. "Be careful, Mano."

His brother-in-law nodded again. "I'll try," he said quietly.

Buck galloped away. Manolito watched his friend go, the furious pace making him even more dizzy.

xxx

Buck arrived in record time at the High Chaparral. "Vaquero," he shouted as soon as he was through the gate. The ranch hands met him at the front porch to hear what was going on. Buck nipped their questions in the bud. "Joe, Pedro, saddle me two fresh horses, pronto," he ordered. "Vaquero," he shouted once more impatiently.

Vaquero came from the summer kitchen and looked at him questioningly.

"Mano has been bitten by a rattlesnake," Buck explained while he refilled his water bottle at the well. "I sent him to the shack behind the Sanchez pasture. I hope he made it."

Buck sighed. You never knew where you stood with these critters. Some of his friends had died from snakebite. During the war, another friend had tried to catch a snake for lunch, but he had not been fast enough. He had got bitten and the doctor had to saw his whole arm off to save him. Still others had hardly shown any symptoms.

Vaquero went back into the kitchen to get the medicine, then they ran to the saddled horses.

"Tell Big John and Victoria we will be back as soon as we can," Buck called to the ranch hands, jumping into the saddle. A moment later he was out of the gate with Vaquero.

In the meantime, Manolito rode to the abandoned building. He had been there only once, but he remembered the way and the layout. The shack stood on a hill, looking like a pinnacle. He could not miss it even in his half-unconscious state. However, he had a feeling that he was running out of time. He had to stop every few minutes to catch his breath and to loosen the tourniquet. But every time he pulled it taut again, he felt weaker. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally saw the house. Dismouting, he almost fell off his horse. He waited until the world stopped spinning, then dragged himself to the entrance. The door was open. Mano leaned on the frame in exhaustion. After a while he pulled himself together and limped to the cot on the opposite wall. He sat down on the furs with a moan and loosened the tourniquet again. Looking up, he saw death standing in the doorway. Death began to speak: "Don't be afraid."

With a wistful smile Manolito fell back on the cot.

xxx

Mano woke. He was lying on some furs. A blanket was covering him. He remembered vaguely that he had made it just in time to the cot before death had overtaken him. He moved his head and looked around. There was a table with four chairs beside the window. A man who was dressed in a black robe like a priest stood in front of it. Was he really dead? Manolito wondered. Was this heaven? He let his gaze wander further. A simple wooden cross hung on the wall beside the front door. He heard a giggle and turned his head. Two angels were looking through the side window. Did angels giggle? Or was he still alive? But the building was supposed to be uninhabited. Did he have hallucinations?

"Hey, what is happening here?" Mano asked and rose, taking the blanket with him.

The padre rushed to him. "No no no, my son. You should not stand up with that leg. Sit down." He grasped Mano's arm and pushed him firmly down onto the nearest chair.

Manolito waved him off. All of a sudden he was fairly certain that he was still alive. "No, I have been bitten by a rattlesnake before. And I am not as weak as another man would be. The first time you get bitten, that is the worst." He broke off. His leg began to pain him, and he realised that he was sitting at the table in his underwear. "Padre, my pants," he hinted.

The padre looked at him blankly for a moment. Then the penny seemed to drop. "Oh yes, of course. By the way, my name is Padre Guillermo," he introduced himself. He did not move an inch to get the required piece of clothing.

Manolito grinned. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Padre Guillermo. I am Manolo Montoya, here to serve you."

The padre's face registered surprise. "Montoya? Your name is Montoya?"

Mano nodded. "Sí."

"The son of Don Sebastian Montoya?" the padre asked once more.

"Yes," Manolito answered a little apprehensively.

"Oh, this is a miracle," Padre Guillermo suddenly exclaimed.

Mano looked at him blankly. "What?"

"A miracle," the holy man repeated, raising his eyes towards heaven.

An elderly nun with so many wrinkles that her face looked like an accordion pushed the curtain aside and came to them from the adjacent room. "Cierto. Un verdadero milagro," she murmured almost toothlessly.

"Providencia. Divine providence, that's what it is," Padre Guillermo exclaimed in delight.

Mano stood. "Padre, my pants," he repeated with a little more emphasis.

"I have them." Mano and the padre turned to the door. A nun in her forties stood at the entrance holding Manolito's pants. "They were filthy. We had to wash them," she explained matter-of-factly.

"Thank you very much," Manolito stammered, feeling a little embarrassed.

Padre Guillermo took the pants from the nun and closed the door. "Sister." He gestured for the old nun to leave the room as well.

"Sí, perdoname," the nun muttered, retiring.

Once the women had left, Manolito dropped his blanket and put on his pants. He sighed inwardly in relief. With proper attire he felt like another man. "Thank you, padre," he said as he closed his belt buckle.

"Don Sabastian Montoya sends us to this place," Padre Guillermo began to explain, smiling again. "And in two days we save the life of his son."

"My father sent you here?" Manolito repeated.

"Sí, señor. He was going to give us a portion of is own land, but he found nothing suitable. Then he told us about the man who owns this his name is-"

"Cannon," Mano put in.

Padre Guillermo nodded. "Señor Cannon, sí, señor. He told us that Señor Cannon would gladly give us anything we want. So we come and save your life. The Lord works in mysterious ways, doesn't he?"

"No more mysterious than my father," Manolito answered with a grin.

There came a knock on the door. Padre Guillermo raised a hand. "Oh, they want to meet you. Con permiso." He pushed the curtain aside and asked the old nun to enter. "Venga. Quiero presentarte un amigo. Venga."

"Mira, qué guapo,'' the old nun mumbled in greeting, looking Manolito up and down.

"Gracias," Mano thanked her.

"Pase." Padre Guillermo opened the front door to let the other two women in. He pointed first to the old nun, then to the younger one. "This is Sister Angelica. And this is Sister Luke."

The younger one looked kind of grim, Mano thought. He had the feeling that she always looked like that. "Sister Luke," he nodded to her formally.

"And that is María de las Pinas." The padre motioned for the girl to come forward and put his hands on her shoulders. "It was María who bandaged your leg."

"But it was Father Guillermo who removed your-" María interjected quickly.

"Yes, yes. I'm sure he understands that,'' the padre waved the comment aside.

"Well, I am very pleased to meet you, María. And thank you for your attention," Mano smiled at the girl. She could not be much older than eighteen. She was wearing a long pink skirt and a dark blouse. Her long black hair was braided into two plaits and curled on the sides. Her face was still quite childlike. Like an angel, Manolito thought as he looked at her.

"Is the bandage all right?" María asked shyly.

Mano smiled again. "Er, yes, it is all right." He broke off. His brow furrowed as if he just became aware of it. "Well, it is tight. Just the slightest bit." He limped back to the cot and sat down on it with a groan.

María knelt beside him. "Let me see."

"Of course you know this Señor Cannon, no?" Padre Guillermo took up the conversation again.

"Sí, padre," Mano nodded. "Tell me something. This land, what do you want it for?"

The padre shrugged. "For a convent for the sisters. To replace the one that was burned down by a madman."

"A madman burned your convent?" Manolito repeated in surprise.

Padre Guillermo nodded.

"Is that better?" María asked her patient.

"You are very kind," Mano told her with a nod, then turned back to the padre. "Who was he?"

"Oh, he was a man with only one eye. The other one was covered wit a black patch like this." The padre demonstrated the eyepatch by holding a hand in front of his left eye. "That is the only way I can describe him," he said apologetically.

"God's grace was with María and me," Sister Luke spoke up. "We were not there. We were on an errand of mercy."

"And what has become of this strange man?" Mano asked.

"The Rurales got a hold of him and put him in jail," Padre Guillermo said in relief. Then he shook his head resignedly. "He left us with nothing but ashes and sadness. Would you be kind enough to introduce us to Señor Cannon tan pronto como sea posible?"

Mano nodded. When he heard hoofbeat outside, he began to smile. "If I am not mistaken, that should be his brother riding in now. His name is Buck, Buck Cannon."

The padre raised his index finger. "Cannon, Buck. I'll remember that." With an expectant smile he stepped out of the door.

"María, that is a very pretty name," he heard Manolito tell the girl before he closed the door behind him.

Buck and Vaquero arrived in a cloud of dust and dismounted at the main house. They saw a padre standing in the doorway. Walking over to Buck, the holy man spread his arms. "Señor- ah, Buck Cannon. We welcome you."

Buck took off his hat and looked questioningly at Vaquero. He had thought the building was abandoned. Vaquero just shrugged his shoulders.

"Señor Montoya awaits you," the padre continued. He opened the door to let Buck enter. "Come on in. Come in."

"Thank you," Buck said, looking startled. Was Mano so sick that he could not get up even after more than two hours?

"Welcome," the padre repeated with a smile.

Buck stepped through the doorway. "Afternoon," he curtly nodded to the nuns. He spotted Manolito sitting on a cot at the opposite wall. A girl knelt beside him. "Ma'am." Buck gave María a cursory glance, then turned his attention to his brother-in-law. "Mano, are you all right?"

His friend nodded reassuringly. "All is well, compadre. I am in good hands, as you can see," he smiled.

Buck crouched beside Manolito and looked searchingly into his friend's eyes. "You mind telling me what's going on? I mean, what are you doing here with all them bunch? I mean, the good father and all them ladies, them nuns. What are they doing here?"

Manolito smiled. Buck made a face as if he was afraid that he had somehow entered his friend's halluzinations. "A miracle, Buck," Mano said, looking properly ecstatic.

"Huh?" Buck glanced at María who kept a straight face, then looked back at his brother-in-law. "A miracle?"

"A miracle, yes," Padre Guillermo confirmed behind him.

"Oh, María, I'm feeling weak again," Mano put in. He turned to Padre Guillermo. "Padre, would you mind taking my friends outside and explain the miracle to them?"

"With pleasure." Padre Guillermo seized Buck by the shoulders and pushed him back out of the door. "Come on. It is something of a wonder; you won't believe how it happened. I will tell you," he said excitedly.

"Is he really okay?" Mano heard Buck ask.

"Yes, he is all right," the padre answered him, then the door closed.

Mano looked back at the girl. "María," he sighed. The girl did not react. A moment later Manolito saw the old nun standing beside the table.

"Hello, sister," Mano smiled at her. When he got no response from her, either, he turned back to María. "Sister Angelica does not speak English, does she?"

"No," smiled the girl. "But she does not have to." After all, María was not the first novice sister Angelica was looking after. And the old nun had been young once as well.

The old nun raised her index finger, smiling indulgently. "La paja está muy cerca del fuego."

Manolito repeated the gesture, looking like a little boy who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, then shook his head. "Ay ay ay," he sighed in disappointment.

Buck, meanwhile, was sitting on the stairs in front of the house and tried to explain to Padre Guillermo that he had to move on with the nuns. However, the good padre would have none of it.

"But padre, this land belongs to my brother," Buck tried another tack.

Padre Guillermo nodded. "Of course."

"It ain't Montoya land, you see?" Buck continued seriously.

The padre nodded again. "Of course, I see."

Buck looked at him earnestly. "So Señor Montoya cannot give you land that he don't own."

"Oh." The padre suddenly looked thoughtful. "Then your brother will force us off the land?" he asked in disappointment.

Buck shook his head reassuringly. "My brother won't force you exactly-"

"Ah, then it is exactly as we were told," the padre exclaimed in delight. "We have found our new home. Bless you." He turned around to go back into the house.

Buck ran after him. "Wait a minute."

Padre Guillermo stopped and turned back to his guest.

"Let me explain something to you," Buck began hurriedly. "You see, this is pretty dangerous country. I mean, this is Apache land."

"God will protect us," the holy man said confidently.

"He didn't protect you from that one-eyed hombre, did he," Buck pointed out.

The padre waved the comment aside. "Of course he didn't. Because he wanted us to be here, you see?" He laughed and slapped Buck on the shoulder.

"Yes," Buck replied thoughtfully, inwardly heaving a sigh. He did not know how to counter such arguments.

Mano appeared in the door, leaning against the frame. "Padre, I think I had better stay here tonight. My leg, it still pains me," he groaned, and Buck was not sure how much of it was an act to get everybody to agree. "It might be too dangerous to move me, you know."

Buck put on his hat. "Are you sure it might not be more dangerous to stay?" he asked pointedly, but Manolito saw the concern in his eyes.

Mano shrugged. "Well, that is a chance I will have to take, compadre. I will see you at the High Chaparrel tomorrow, all right?" He turned around to go back inside. María helped him. "Or the next day. Adios," Mano added faintly, then the door closed.

Buck and Padre Guillermo looked at each other. Buck began to grin sourly, then started to look around for his companion. "Vaquero. - Hey," he called when he could not see the man anywhere. A moment later Vaquero came to him, Sister Luke in tow.

"Qué pasa?" Buck asked.

"I was just arranging for these good sisters to get some blankets and things that they need more than we do," Vaquero explained.

Buck nodded his agreement. "That's nice." He tipped his hat and, not even waiting for a reply, went to Rebel.

"Muchas gracias," Padre Guillermo called after him.

"Adios, padre," Vaquero told the holy man as he went to his own horse.

"Adios. Vaya con dios." Padre Guillermo raised an arm, waving goodbye. "Vaya con dios."

Buck stopped for a moment. "God go with you, too, padre."

"Thank you," Padre Guillermo answered. A moment later he made an uncomprehending face. "But we are not going anywhere."

Buck looked down from his horse. "That's what I'm afraid of," he said dryly. He wheeled Rebel around and followed Vaquero, raising a cloud of dust as big as the one he had arrived in.

A convent on High Chaparral grounds, Buck thought morosely. That was the last thing they needed. The ranch hands would quit in droves. Big John telling them that he brooked "no gambling, no drinking, and no disorderly conduct" was one thing. He was their boss, after all. And Buck saw to it that the rule was enforced - without exaggerating. But missionaries trying to impose proper behaviour, that would not go over well. After all this hard work, a man needed a few diversions. Like whisky. And a saloon. And the fun that could be had with the girls working there. Buck did not relish the prospect of being lectured each time he went to Tucson, or having to sneak off his own ranch like a thief. He would prefer an Apache attack any day. The Apaches at least left you alone when they realised they had lost.

But there was still hope that the ranch would be spared from the convent. At dinner Buck was in a good mood again. He sat down with John, Victoria and Blue at the table and started in on his plate.

"Tell me. Where have you been so long?" his sister-in-law asked eventually. She had already finished eating and now had time to talk.

Buck grinned at her with his mouth full. "John, I was as logical and nice as a man could be. You would have been proud of me. I didn't yell, I didn't holler. That old priest is a good ole boy, but there is no way to get through to him."

"Now, don't go get yourself all riled up, Buck," Big John put in. "If you just go to the padre and explain to him the situation, clearly, calmly-"

His brother shook his head. "No, John. He is a good ole boy, but honestly, we just don't communicate too awful well." Buck was not sure whether the padre was really so naive, or whether it was only an act. He remembered his mother's saying: play stupid five minutes in the morning, and they leave you alone all day. That seemed to sum up Padre Guilermo's attitude.

"Well, Buck, you're gonna have to learn to communicate," Big John grinned at his brother. "Because Blue and I are going to Tucson tomorrow. You're gonna have to handle this all by yourself."

Buck nodded resignedly. They had dumped this trouble on his plate, and he was stuck with it.

"Buck," Victoria asked. "Father Guillermo and the sisters, do they have any money?"

Buck grinned again. "Oh, Victoria," he sighed. "I tell you, I feel sorry for those poor people. They are poor. I mean, if it cost two cents to go around the world, they couldn't get out of sight."

His table companions smiled. Buck had such a way with words, but nobody could really be angry with him.

"But they would like to- I mean, they wouldn't want to make their way into the wilderness. I am sure they would like to join an established convent in their order," Victoria spoke up again.

Big John shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

"So?" his wife mocked him, then became serious. "So couldn't we make a small contribution to the convent?"

"Ah yes." All of a sudden the rancher nodded knowingly. Now he understood how such things worked in Mexico.

"Wait." Buck looked excitedly up from his plate. "Give them moving money. Money to move them on, I mean."

His sister-in-law shook her head. "No. No, that wouldn't be- Cómo se dice? The money should be given with no reservations."

"No," Big John corrected her. "That's no strings attached."

"Right." Victoria nodded emphatically. "The contribution should be made with no strings attached."

Buck's eyes began to sparkle. "Right. No strings, Victoria. But just a little bit of thread. "He laughed. "This should be easy."

"I know," Big John grinned at his brother before he got up from the table. That was why he wanted Buck to handle it.

xxx

The next morning Manolito asked María to join him on a walk. He wanted to make sure his leg was all right again. Sister Angelica came with them as a chaperone. She walked a few steps behind Mano and María so as not to disturb them. During their walk, Mano asked María what she was doing all day in the convent. María answered him hesitantly and seemed inordinately shy. When she had relaxed a little, Mano finally asked the question that interested him the most. "How did you end up in a convent?"

María looked down. "I have lived with them ever since my father died. They have all been so good to me."

"And you are going to repay them by becoming a nun?" Mano put in.

"Sister Luke told me you would ask that question," María answered.

"Ay, Sister Luke," sighed Manolito. "How could she tell?"

"She says there is the devil in your eyes."

"Well, you tell Sister Luke it is better in my eyes than in my heart, all right?" Mano said with some force. María looked up questioningly. Her companion shrugged. "It is true. María, are you going to become a nun?" Manolito stopped, scrutinising the girl in disbelief. He could not understand why such a pretty child would choose the convent. She only had to beckon, and the men would do anything for her.

María looked up at the sky. An exulted smile lit her eyes. "If I am worthy," she answered Manolito's question. Her eyes fell on the mountains in the background. A rider stood on the summit. The sun blinded her so that she could only see the outlines, but she would not forget that particular figure in a lifetime. She flinched. A strangled cry escaped her lips.

Manolito looked at her uncomprehendingly. "What is wrong?"

The girl turned her head away. "Up there on the rocks," she whispered.

Mano turned around. The rock was empty. "There is nothing there. Look." He scrutinised his companion. The girl seemed to almost pass out with fear. Manolito took her hands. "What is wrong, María? You are trembling. What is it?"

The girl shook her head, unable to speak. Mano put an arm around her shoulders, soothingly stroking her back until she stopped shaking. Then he held her at arm's length and gave her a once-over. "Come. We better go back."

María nodded gratefully.

While Mano took María on a walk, Buck rode up to the shack the padre had occupied with his nuns. Dismounting in the courtyard, he saw Sister Luke kneeling in front of a red curtain, crossing herself.

"Et vos omnes, qui hic simul adestis, benedicat omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Fílius, et Spíritus Sanctus. Amen," Buck heard a solemn voice.

Buck took off his hat. "Hi there, sister. Where is the good padre?"

Sister Luke pointed wordlessly at the curtain, then walked away.

"Thank you, sister," Buck called after her and went to the curtain himself. "Padre?"

"Kneel, my son," he heard the same dignified voice from the other side.

"Padre, forgive me, but I beg your pardon."

"Kneel," the voice repeated in the same tone.

Buck shrugged. "Yes, sir." He bent one leg - and straightened up again. "Wait a minute. I don't want to kneel. I didn't come here to confess nothing. I came here to talk to you about this situation. I want to give you some money."

Padre Guillermo immediately opened the curtain. Ah, Buck thought happily. This part of his plan had worked. Now all he had to do was getting his message across.

"Mr. Buck," Padre Guillermo exclaimed effusively. "How are you? Glad to see you."

"Glad to see you, too," Buck answered, feeling suddenly off-balance again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mano and María walk into the courtyard, Sister Angelica in tow.

"Buck," Mano said behind him.

Buck turned to his brother-in-law. "Hm?"

"Keep on talking."

Buck nodded. He looked Padre Guillermo straight in the eyes. "It's good to see you, father. Well, my brother John and I were talking about you good people. And how if we give you some money that you might leave or that you would-" He stopped, looking questioningly back at Mano. Somehow it did not sound as good as he had imagined.

Manolito shook his head. "Not like that."

Buck sighed. He took a deep breath and turned back to Padre Guillermo. "Anyway, we gonna contribute one hundred dollar for your people."

The holy man's eyes widened. "Oh. You know what this means? It means a new roof. Come on, we must tell the others immediately. It is a miracle. A real miracle. Oh, they will be surprised. I can hardly believe it myself." He ran into the house with María.

Manolito stepped up to his best friend. "Buck, that was extremly generous of Big John."

"Mano, that money was for to get them to move on," Buck whispered back.

Mano shook his head. "It did not work."

"I know, I know, it didn't work," Buck retorted, sounding a bit irritated.

"You can try again tonight," Mano told him with a smile.

"Yeah." Buck nodded, putting on his hat. Suddenly he stopped and looked up questioningly. "Tonight? Why? What's tonight?"

Manolito clasped his friend's shoulder. "Well, tonight is when I have invited all of them to have dinner with all of us at the High Chaparral."

"Dinner," Buck said slowly. Then he mockingly grinned at his brother-in-law. "That's nice, Mano."

Manolito grinned back. "Buck."

"Hm?"

"Vaya con dios."

"Thank you, Mano." Buck shrugged, rubbing his forehead and went to his horse.

Manolito watched him go. He could not ask for a better friend. Buck had neither teased nor scolded him that he was flirting with María - a girl who was supposed to become a nun. He only seemed unusually worried about something.

xxx

For the rest of the day everybody on the High Chaparral was busy with preparations so that they would be able to receive their guests properly. Victoria directed the operation. She decided that Mano would stay with Buck and that María would get Mano's room. The nuns would stay in Blue's room. Blue had offered – more or less voluntarily – to stay in the bunkhouse for the duration of the visit. The padre would stay in the smallest room, the guest room.

The guests arrived on time for dinner. María did not dare look up when she greeted Big John. She felt ashamed that she had no other dress that she could change into for dinner. The fire wich had destroyed the convent had burned her clothes as well, except for those she had worn at the time. Victoria, sensing the reason for María's shyness, took the girl by the hand and led her upstairs into the bedroom where she opened her wardrobe. She rumaged through her dresses until she found one that fit: it was a long turquoise dress that accentuated the waist. A hair ribbon of the same colour went with it.

At dinner, María relaxed. The general attention was on the meal. The men and Victoria made light conversation. It felt almost like home when her father had received guests in his house, the girl thought a little nostalgic. And suddenly she felt safe on the High Chaparral. She even ventured a little dance with Manolito after the meal. Victoria had brought her music box down from the bedroom and had asked Blue to give the concertmaster. He was responsible for re-winding the box so that the music would not stop. Big John understood the rather broad hint. He pushed the round table in the living room against the wall and asked his wife for the first dance. Before long Mano and María were dancing as well, much to Buck's surprise. He stood with the others in a semicircle around the makeshift dance floor, smiling at the couples.

"You do not approve?" Padre Guillermo turned to Sister Luke, noticing how she followed María's every move with eagle's eyes and a rather sullen expression on her face.

The nun shook her head. "I do not. We should not have come here. All the things she is seeing. The people, wearing one of the Señora's fancy gowns. María will never enter the order."

"That would be possible," the padre replied equably. "But I have never seen her happier. There is no evil in that."

"She has a vocation for our life. She must be thinking of taking her first vows, not of this." Sister Luke gestured dismissively towards the makeshift dance floor.

With a sigh Padre Guillermo turned back to his glass of wine. It was useless to argue with the nun. Sister Luke was more Catholic than the Pope in this respect. When he looked back up, he had to smile. Buck was moving onto the dance floor, tapping his brother on the shoulder. "All right, Victoria. I'll show you who the graceful Cannon brother is. One two three, one two three," he laughed, whirling his sister-in-law around like an over-eager sailor on a brief shore leave. Victoria had to smile, thinking that Buck ought to look up "graceful" in a dictionary.

xxx

While Big John entertained his guests, an intruder made his way to the house on silent feet. Once the night had come, he crept under cover of darkness towards the summer kitchen and took Ira in a headlock until the man lost consciousness. Then he tied him on hands and feet to a post and gagged him. However, Ira regained his senses faster than the intruder had thought. He watched the ranch hand for a while, then shrugged indifferently and prepared his next attack.

Ira was lying on his stomach. He mobilised every ounce of strength to free himself. He was sweating with the effort but could not move an inch. At the edge of his vision he could make out a man with an eye patch climb the ladder to the roof. Ira heard the thud when Pedro went down. It did not take a genius to know what had happened. The man had crept up behind Pedro and had knocked him over the head with his revolver. Ira hoped that someone in the house would notice what was going on, but the laughter and the music drowned out every other sound.

María and Mano had finally stopped dancing and were laughing at each other.

"María, would you like a g lass of wine?" Manolito asked his dance partner.

The girl shook her head, appearing to be a little out of breath. "Some fresh air."

Mano smiled. "You know, I happen to know where there is an endless supply of fresh air." He pointed to the entrance. "Outside that door."

"Perhaps a glass for sister Luke," María murmured with a covert glance towards the nun. She had heard the exchange between sister Luke and Padre Guillermo.

Manolito grinned. "Oh, María, you are a diplomat. Sweet wine for sister Luke, I think. Permiso. I will be right back."

María threw the nun a subdued look before she left the house. She did not see the man with the eye patch peeking around the corner of the porch. María took a few steps towards the corral and looked up at the stars.

"María," a voice whispered behind her.

The girl whirled around. She saw Mano coming out of the house. "Did you call my name?" she asked uncertainly.

"In my heart perhaps," Manolito said, feeling a little tipsy.

"It sounded like- someone else," María said hesitantly.

Mano came to her, a broad smile on his face. "Then perhaps I should introduce myself. Señorita de las Pinas, I have the honour to present Manolo Montoya. A man both arrogant and foolish, though some say he has a bit of sensitive charm."

María got goose bumps. "Um, it is- I'm suddenly very cold," she stammered. "The desert night has a chill. Let us join the others." She started to go back to the house.

Mano gently took her arm. María half turned, and they walked a few steps parallel to the house. "You know, this Montoya is conceited," Manolito continued. "But not totally without cause. He is a man with some humour. A harsh judge of his fellow man, but not without compassion. He is religious in his own way."

María wondered in which book he had read that. And she knew what was coming. She stopped and looked at her companion. "Please, you must not-"

"Tell you that I love you?" Mano asked.

"No," María replied quickly.

"Why not?"

The girl let her gaze wander over the ranch. "There is a reason," she said softly.

"Your wish to be a nun?" Mano guessed.

María shook her head. "The man who has only one eye."

Manolito looked at her uncomprehendingly. "What about him?"

"His name is García, Ramón García. We planned to be married. He was the foreman of the ranch where my family lived. He has a temper, fierce and violent. I never saw that side of him until it was too late."

"Too late?" Mano asked in surprise.

María nodded, looking suddenly pale. "He spoke to my father. My father would not permit the marriage. They both had strong tempers. Words led to blows, and worse, papa was killed. Ramón lost the sight of one eye and was put away in prison."

"María, it is all over. Put it from your mind," Mano said urgently.

The girl looked at him anxiously. "Will it ever be over? Today when we took our walk, and I pointed off-"

"I remember. There was nothing," Manolito tried to convince her.

María shook her head in agitation. "It was Ramón. He is not behind prison bars. He's gotten away somehow."

Mano took her hands. "You only imagined you saw him. It was your own fear."

"It was Ramón," María insisted. "Waiting for me."

"But you said yourself he is-"

"Here," a voice suddenly called out behind them. Mano turned around in surprise. A man rushed him with a drawn knife. Before Mano could raise an arm to protect himself, the blade caught him on the temple. Mano went down. The next instant Ramón turned to María and put his hand over her mouth. "Do not cry out," he whispered when he felt his fiancée trembling with fear. "I do not want to harm you. I just want to talk with you." When he saw that she had calmed down, he took his hand away and let it slide over her shoulder.

María plucked up her courage and shook her head. "Whenever you talk, whenever you come to talk, someone is hurt or killed. Let me alone, Ramón. What do you want of me?" She took a step away from him into the darkness.

"You," Ramón said softly. "Only you. You belong to me."

"This is not love," María flared.

Ramón followed her and turned her around to face him. "Then you teach me how to love. The way you would want me to be," he urged.

María looked her fiancé in the eyes. "Buck!" She screamed suddenly. She bit Ramón in the hand when he tried to cover her mouth again and ran towards the house. "Buck! Señor Cannon!"

The door flew open. Buck and Big John stormed out. Manolito, too, regained his senses. He scrambled to his feet and stood dazedly in the middle of the courtyard. Ramón jumped onto his horse which he had parked right behind the front porch and rode him down. Manolito fell to the ground again and lay there unmoving.

The noise had also woken up Pedro on the roof. He grasped his rifle, jumped to his feet and sent a volley of shots after the intruder, but it was too dark to see if he had hit him. Buck meanwhile ran to his best friend. He turned Mano over carefully and touched two fingers to his friend's throat. When he felt the pulse, he sighed in relief.

John looked sternly up to the roof. "Pedro, how did he get by you?"

Pedro shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment. "No sé. He hit me on the head when I wasn't watching," he moaned, touching his skull for emphasis.

Manolito groaned. Buck lifted him to his feet and held him upright. His friend swayed like a leaf.

"Who was he, Mano?" Buck asked.

"No idea," Manolito gasped. His head felt as if it would burst any moment. He had only seen the blade and the horse.

"Well, whoever he was, we'll get him," Big John interjected grimly, examining Mano's forehead. The temple was sporting a bruise that seemed to swell by the second. Blood was trickling down from it in a thin line. "That's a nasty gash you got there. Let's get you inside and have Vaquero have a look at you. Buck, you go see what happened to Ira."

While John and María led Manolito into the house, Buck ran to the ranch hand. "Hey, he tied you up like a Christmas turkey," he joked. The laughter died in his throat when he saw that Ira was desperately gasping for air. Buck removed the gag and unfastened the rope. Ira lay unmoving on his belly. His heart was racing. He did not even have the strength to tell Buck that he still could not breathe. Buck turned him over a moment later. Ira looked up gratefully, then closed his eyes in exhaustion. After a while he felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes again. Behind the stars obscuring his vision he could make out Buck. The younger Cannon brother helped him to his feet and half carried him to the bunkhouse. The ranch hands there had been too absorbed in their poker game to notice the goings-on outside. Buck explained.

"Joe," he added at last. "Have a look at the tracks. Maybe you'll find something that'll help us. I need to see to Mano." Turning to Ira, he added, "As soon as you can ride, we'll chase that hombre down."

xxx

Buck went back to the ranch house. María was sitting in a chair, weeping heartbreakingly. Victoria was squatting beside her. Leaning on the arm rest, she looked up at the frightened girl, attempting to soothe her. "It's all right. You are safe here."

María shook her head. "No. There is no place. No place is safe from him."

Buck gazed around further. Mano was lying on the couch. Vaquero was just finishing the last stitch on his wound. Buck touched his friend's shoulder. Mano looked up at him dazedly. Vaquero must have given him some drops of laudanum to make him hold still, Buck guessed. He helped his brother-in-law to his feet and led him to the upper floor. On the stairs Mano stopped and looked towards María.

Buck held him back. "Let her be," he told his friend quietly. "You can't help her right now. Her family is taking care of her." He nodded to the nuns and Padre Guillermo who stood a little helplessly behind María's chair. Manolito turned back to his brother-in-law, a hurt look on his face.

"I'm sorry, amigo," Buck said softly. Mano got the impression that his friend meant something else, but he had no idea what it could be. And his headache made it impossible to concentrate and think it through.

"Come on." Buck nudged him gently forward. He took Mano to his room, made him lie down and put a glass of water on the nightstand. "Sleep, Mano. I'll ride out with the others. We'll find him."

Manolito closed eyes.

Buck went back down to the living room and took his brother aside. "Someone should stay here and keep watch in case he comes back."

The rancher nodded. "Vaquero will stand guard on the roof. Tell Blue or one of the hands to stay here as well. We'll take turns at the house."

At dawn Buck and the ranch hands came back empty-handed.

"No luck?" John asked quietly.

His brother lowered his head. "We lost him."

"We did not even get close. It was like chasing a shadow," Sam put in.

"All right," Big John sighed. "Get yourself some sleep."

Buck went to the kitchen. "Have you seen Mano?" he asked Victoria.

His sister-in-law shook her head. "No, he's still asleep."

"Then make us some breakfast. We'll eat upstairs," Buck decided. Loaded with the tray, he went to his room and woke his friend.

"Did you find him?" Mano asked while he watched his brother-in-law lay the table.

Buck shook his head. "We chased him all night, but we lost him somewhere in Las Animas Canyon. He seems to know the area at least a little. And he's pretty good at hiding. Not even Joe could find his tracks in the dark."

While Buck and Mano had breakfast and then lay down to get some sleep, Padre Guilermo came to John and Victoria on the porch. "Señor Cannon, I think the sisters and I should be leaving now."

Big John shook his head. "Well, padre, I'd like to talk to you about that," he said slowly.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Padre, this is not as simple as it may seem. Let's go inside." John put a hand on Padre Guillermo's shoulder, nodding to his wife to follow them.

"I can appreciate your concern, Señor Cannon," the padre began once they were inside.

The rancher agitatedly paced the room. "Padre, I cannot allow you to return to that shack."

Padre Guillermo looked at his host blankly. "I don't see why not. It is not as dismal as you say. A new roof, a little paint, a few flowers. - The convent will flourish. In time."

Big John shook his head. "But padre, it isn't the convent that's at stake. It's your lives. Once you are outside the safety of this compound, you are at the mercy of Ramón and every Apache, Comanchero, bandido, whatever. You'd have to have an army protect you fulltime to survive. And whether I like it or not, you're my responsibility for the time being. I have to insist that you remain here at the High Chaparral."

The padre sighed. "You know best. I will inform the sisters. Please excuse me."

John watched him go as he headed to the upper floor.

xxx

María knocked and cautiously opened the door. Padre Guillermo had opened his ledger books and was conferring with sister Angelica.

"Father Guillermo?" the girl asked shyly.

The padre looked up smilingly. "Oh, María, come in. Sister Angelica and I were trying to figure out what we could do with what we haven't got." He sighed. "Which is not a very gratifying task."

María came to stand in front of the desk. "I made my decision. I will enter the order."

Padre Guillermo turned to sister Angelica. "Could you get me a cup of coffee?" he asked her in Spanish.

The old nun nodded. "Sí, padre, why not?"

"Gracias," Padre Guillermo thanked her. Sister Angelica grumblingly left the room. As soon as the door had closed, the padre stood and walked around the desk to María. "So you finally came to a decision. So quickly, so impulsively."

The girl looked away. "I came to the convent seeking comfort and a way to God. What did I bring in return? Only destruction. I have much to atone for," she said softly.

Padre Guillermo shook his head. "María, María, you cannot join an order because you wish to escape from life. If you do, you won't find any happiness, you won't bring any. You won't be able to persevere." Sister Luke was the best example of this.

María sank into the chair that stood in front of the desk. "Whatever I come near, I destroy."

"Nonsense," Padre Guillermo waved her comment aside.

María did not seem to hear him. "It is because of me. My father, Ramón, the convent in Sonora…" She looked up sadly.

The padre shook his head again, starting to pace the room. "It's guilt that is eating your heart. Isn't that guilt partly mine? You told me of Ramón. How you always wanted to become a nun, even before you met him. I let you live within the convent walls because I thought it would be best. But I knew that he would be coming back for you someday. But I never dreamed that when he came he would-" Heaving a sigh, he wearily rubbed a hand over his face. "Well, that's over. It's the future that matters now."

María looked him straight in the eyes. "You do not want me in the order."

Padre Guillermo raised his index finger. "Only with a heart that is free from remorse and guilt. A strong heart absolutely detached from earthly affection is needed for a sister's work. God gave you a free will, María. Do not waste it on pity for yourself."

María stood up. Biting her tongue, she rushed out of the door. She moped all day. Padre Guillermo let her stew.

xxx

That night it was pitch dark. Pedro was standing guard on the roof again. At midnight María prayed and crossed herself, but she did not get ready for bed. She put on her jacket, blew out the lamp and crept out of the house. As quietly as possible she saddled the horse, led it from the ranch and rode away. It had been easier than she had thought. Pedro was so anxious not to be knocked out again that he guarded his roof more than the courtyard.

The next morning Padre Guillermo entered Big John's study right before breakfast. "Señor Cannon, our horse is gone," he said quietly.

"What?" The rancher looked up in disbelief.

The padre nodded. "Sister Angelica wanted to feed it as is her habit, but she could not find it anywhere."

Big John went straight to the bunkhouse, his face stormy. "Pedro, you had night watch last night," he thundered.

The ranch hand looked at him earnestly. "Sí, and I watched like a hawk," he insisted.

"But you failed to notice that someone stole a horse right from under your nose," John countered.

Stumped, Pedro scratched his head. "Oh- Well-" He suddenly looked up, a broad grin on his face. "But nobody knocked me out this time."

The rancher raised his hands in resignation. Buck must have felt like this when he had tried to reason with Padre Guillermo, he thought sourly.

As if on cue, the padre came running towards the bunkhouse, shouting for Señor Cannon. "María is gone," he said breathlessly when he came to a halt in front of John. "Sister Luke went in to wake her up since she had not eaten with us yesterday evening, but the room was empty."

"She must have taken the horse," John concluded. He gave Pedro a stern look. The ranch hand lowered his eyes, shrugging apologetically.

"It is my fault she is gone," Padre Guillermo mumbled, wringing his hands and shaking his head ind espair. "She came to me for guidance. For help. I was harsh with her. Too harsh."

"But why run off?" Big John asked.

The padre looked up. "To escape. From everything, even herself."

Big John made a determined face. "The important thing now is to find her before the Apaches do. - Or Ramón." He turned to his men: "Get ready. We'll look for her. Pedro, you help," he said, pointing his index finger at the man as if he wanted to skewer him with it, then left the bunkhouse to get Buck and Blue.

They formed three teams. The ranch hands rode south towards the border. That was the most dangerous area, especially for a lone woman. After hours of searching, Sam finally stopped. He shook his head, feeling at a loss. "There's no sign of her here. Ira, Pedro, Reno, have a look down south." He pointed to his right. "Joe and I will go straight ahead and meet you at Twin Creeks."

"All right, Sam," Pedro nodded. He nudged his horse onwards, waving to Ira and Reno to follow him.

John, Blue and Vaquero meanwhile rode east towards Benson. But they had no luck, either.

Buck and Mano made up the third team. Buck was not convinced that a systematic search would meet with success. Instead, he simply rode out of the gate and continued straight on. Manolito followed him. His head still ached, but he had not wanted to stay at home. Late in the afternoon Buck suddenly stopped on an overhang. "Mano," he called.

"Yes?" His brother-in-law pulled up beside him.

Buck pointed down the slope at a lone figure, half hidden by the bushes, that was riding into the sunset. "Where do you think she's heading?" he asked his friend.

Manolito shook his head. "I do not know. I don't think she knows. Buck, tell the others we have found her. I will meet you at the ranch." His headache was suddenly gone.

Buck grinned. "Whatever you say - lover."

Manolito gave his brother-in-law an angry look. Buck smilingly raised his hand, wheeled his horse around and rode off. He could imagine how the story would end, but he did not want to talk Mano out of spending time with María.

Manolito caught up with the girl pretty quickly. She shrugged wordlessly when he proposed to take a rest. Mano built a fire and made some coffee. María was sitting silently nearby and stared into the darkness.

"María." Mano handed her a cup.

The girl shook her head and continued to look straight ahead.

"Is it my coffee or my company that displeases you?" Manolito asked with a smile. "You're not going to say anything? Good." He moved a little closer. "You are not required to talk, just listen."

María turned her head and looked at her companion at last. "You want to take me back to the High Chaparral?"

Mano nodded.

"Why? So more people will be hurt, perhaps killed?" she flared.

Mano shook his head. "No, María. We will find Ramón, and you will be safe with us until then. And after."

"There is nothing for me to do on that fine ranch," María said firmly.

"Yes, there is," Mano replied softly.

The girl looked up doubtfully. "What?"

"Learn to love me."

"Love?" María did not understand what it meant to love someone. She did not need physical contact to feel a connection with other people. She had the Bible in which she found solace and hope. In the convent she could find her own way, without anyone demanding anything of her that she could not give.

Mano smiled at her. "Yes. That word love. I have said it so many times, and I have said it to so many girls. Different girls and different circumstances. But for you- For you I need a new word." He kissed her softly on the lips.

María did not respond. She looked at him with wide eyes. Mano finally took her in his arms, stroking her hair, holding her close and warming her. He began to tell her about his childhood. What pranks he had played on his father, how well he got along with his sister, and what adventures he had had so far with Buck, his best friend. María finally relaxed and after a while even giggled in the right places. When Mano fell silent, María began to talk. Her mother had died early. She had had only her father who had guarded her jealously. He had been strict but fair. He had demanded obedience, but as log as she had done what he had told her, she had got on well with him. And she knew that her father had loved her. He had sometimes brought her gifts for no reason. Then she had met Ramón. He had been very charming and had managed to turn her head. Two years ago she had finally promised to marry him. Hand in hand they had gone to her father. He had become terribly angry. As angry as she had never seen him before. He had sent her from the room. In the adjacent room she had heard everything. The exchange of words, the struggle, the breaking of the table. And then the sudden silence. Ramón had finally come out of the house covered in blood. The ranch hands had taken him first to the doctor and then had brought him before the judge. Ramón had gone to prison, and María had entered the convent. It had seemed to be best this way.

Mano said nothing. He just sighed and held María a little closer. And so they fell asleep.

The next morning after breakfast Mano wandered around on foot with María, leading the horses by the bridle. Mano had invited the girl to a walk as he had done on the second day of their acquaintance. He thought it best if he did not force María to return to the High Chaparral. Instead, he would choose a direction where they would just happen to come across the ranch. María looked around. The day before, she had not noticed the landscape at all.

"Manolito," she suddenly exclaimed in alarm. Ramón was standing on the opposite hilltop.

Ramón took aim and fired, but he was too far away. Mano and María raced towards the nearest shelter, the abandoned building where they had first met. They dismounted in the courtyard. Mano was a bit slow and took a hit in his left arm. María helped him into the house. Mano opened the window and fired to stop Ramón's approach. Ramón took cover behind the crumbling wall and fired back. When Mano was sure that Ramón could not make his way towards the house unnoticed, he sank against the wall in exhaustion and allowed himself to slide down to the floor.

As soon as the shooting stopped, María stuck her head out of the window. "Ramón," she called. "No more killing because of me."

"You promised yourself to me," Ramón called back. "That promise cannot be broken. I do not want to hurt anyone. All I want is to be with you, María. Just come out and talk to me, that's all I ask. Please."

Mano held his arm. "What- what is he doing?" he asked.

"Waiting," María whispered. "Waiting for me."

"Let him wait," Mano gasped.

María nodded. She went into the next room. A moment later she returned with a bandage and took care of Mano's wound.

"Gracias, María," Manolito thanked her.

Ramón listened to the goings-on in the house but could make no sense of it. What were they doing in there? "María," he finally shouted impatiently. "I do not wish to hurt your friend. But I will if I must. María, just come out and talk to me, that's all I ask. Your friend, he can go free. Just come out and talk to me. Is that asking so much?"

María made to get up. Mano held her back. "Do not do it."

The girl looked her companion seriously in the eyes. "No. He means what he says. He will kill you."

Mano shook his head. "I will not let you go."

María remembered what Padre Guillermo had told her about victims and perpetrators. People with low self-esteem, he had told her, were often abused by others because it was easy to command such people. But when the victims started to take their life in their own hands, the perpetrators lost interest in them and finally turned away from them. María gathered her courage. "This meeting with Ramón has to be. It is my decison to make."

Mano looked at her searchingly, then nodded his agreement. María got up and walked out. Revolver in hand, Mano leaned on the window sill and watched her go.

The girl walked with measured steps towards her fiancé. As soon as she had come into range, Ramón pulled her behind the wall, and María's heart was in her boots again. Her fiancé looked at her pityingly, speaking softly. "You look so helpless. Like the first day I saw you. Do you remember, María? It was the begining of spring. You could not tear you eyes away from the earth." He gently took her face in his hands. "I will be so good to you. I was a good man once. You know that, don't you? Don't you?" he repeated when María did not answer.

María took heart. She pulled Ramón's hands away and looked him in the eyes. "It does not matter now. Whatever I once felt for you is gone. That is what I want from you: to have you gone."

Ramón shook his head in disbelief. "You do not love me?"

María closed her eyes. "I have done as you asked." She looked at her fiancé determinedly. "I will do more. The man in there - Manolito - I do not want him killed. If I come with you, you must keep your promise and let him live." María thought that if she offered her fiancé something, he would act generously for her sake. She did not know that this was the wrongest thing she could do. That she was now again completely at Ramón's mercy.

The answer was not long in coming. Ramón furiously grasped her arms. "You-" he snapped, taking a deep breath when he felt his fiancée trembling. "You do not love me?" he asked calmer.

"I will come with you," María exclaimed in panic. "Isn't that enough?"

"No. No, that is not enough." In his rage Ramón slapped her across the cheek. "Who is this Manolito who means so much to you? We will find out. "He pushed María towards the house. In the courtyard he stopped. "Manolito. Oye, macho. You want her? Here she is," he shouted.

María shook her head anxiously. "Manolito, no."

"What is the matter? Are you afraid?" Ramón taunted Mano and, with a sneer, threw his revolver to the ground. "There, I am unarmed. Come and get her."

"Ramón," Mano growled through clenched teeth. He went to the door and leaned against the frame, throwing his revolver away as well. Holding his arm, he walked towards María and Ramón. Ramón pushed his fiancée aside, pulled out his knife and rushed Mano. However, Manolito knew this tactic already. It no longer surprised him. He sidestepped, let Ramón stumble over his foot and rolled with him over the ground. When he realised that he could not gain the upper hand in close combat, he pushed Ramón off and reached for a beam which was lying around and was destined to one day support the roof of the stable. But even that did not help him. Mano finally backed away from Ramón's knife into the darkness of the stable. He hoped that the close confines there would give him a better chance. Ramón followed Manolito, a wolfish grin on his face. Suddenly he received a push from behind. He stumbled, fell to the ground and rolled, doggedly holding on to his knife. He hardly felt the blade cutting into his flesh. Slowly he made it back to his feet. Mano watched him warily, keeping his distance. Turning away from Manolito, Ramón stepped into the light.

María had jumped in fright when the roof collapsed. The beam had not just been lying around. It had helped stabilise the other beams that were already supporting the roof. With one beam gone, the others had started to slide, and the roof had finally collapsed, hitting Ramón in the back and sending him sprawling. María covered her mouth with one hand when she saw her fiancé come out. A moment later Manolito also stepped back into the light. María sighed in relief. Then she saw the knife sticking out of Ramón's chest. "Ramón," María exclaimed. She ran to her fiancé just as Ramón collapsed.

"When the roof hit him, he fell on his knife," Mano gasped, needing to explain. He did not want María to think him guilty of Ramón's death. María, however, had only eyes for her fiancé. Tears streaming down her face, she knelt beside him. Mano looked away. That María still felt for Ramón broke his heart.

Ramón raised a hand to touch María's face. "And so it ends here," he whispered. "Do you remember, María? You could not take your eyes from the-" His eyes closed; his hand fell away.

María bent over Ramón and kissed him. Mano walked away. Had he died, María would have kissed him, too, he realised suddenly, but then it would not have mattered any more. Just as it did not matter any more to Ramón. Manolito stumbled towards the decrepit wall. Buck suddenly stood in front of him. He had had a premonition and had ridden around since dawn. He had heard the shots from afar, had followed their tracks and had seen the end of the fight.

Buck looked sadly at his best friend. "I'm sorry, Mano," he said softly.

Manolito understood now what his brother-in-law meant. "You knew it all the time, didn't you?" he asked just as softly.

Buck nodded. "Yes, Mano. I saw the way she looked at you. The way she looks at everybody. As if she expects something terrible to happen at any moment. Someone like María needs a refuge. A place where people stick to the rules, where she can hold on to these rules. For us, it would be like jail. For her, it means security. She wants to find a way to God and does not understand that she must find a way to herself first." Buck sighed. "I guess, Padre Guillermo will manage to teach her that, in time."

Manolito looked up. A glimmer of hope shone in his eyes again. "Could not I-?"

His brother-in-law shook his head regretfully.

"How do you know that?" Manolito flared.

Buck shrugged. "Ask her, but be prepared for a disappointment."

Mano nodded emphatically. "Yes, I will ask her."

"But not right now. You're hardly able to keep upright. Come on." Buck wrapped an arm around Mano's waist and gently nudged him towards the main house.

Manolito sank down on the cot with a sigh. Although it was the height of summer, he was freezing, now that the excitement was over. Buck covered him with a blanket. He gently brushed the hair back from Mano's forehead to examine the wound on the temple. It healed well and had not started to bleed again during the fight. That was something at least, Buck thought grimly. He sighed in relief when he noticed that his brother-in-law had fallen asleep.

Buck left the house. He went to María, calmed her down and told her what had to be done. When she finally gazed at him with clear eyes, Buck looked around for a spade. He had just finished digging the grave when María approached him, a white sheet in her hands. Buck wrapped Ramón in the sheet, put him in the grave and filled it up. María went quietly into the main house. She took the wooden cross from the wall and put it on Ramón's grave.

Manolito had half woken when María had come in, but he had been too exhausted to open his eyes. After a while he heard Buck's voice. He could not understand the words, but the quiet tone soothed him, and he soon went back to sleep.

"One thing you'll have to explain to me," Buck said thoughtfully. He stood on one side of the grave, María with lowered head on the other side. "Why did you ever agree to marry Ramón? I mean, when you really wanted to become a nun. You can't have it both ways."

María sheepishly shrugged her shoulders. "I thought that's what a girl does. She marries, raises the children and then enters the convent. But Ramón was too wild."

"Yes." Buck sighed. "Give him an inch and he'll take a yard. And won't ever let go. Well, just let the dust settle and be done with him." María winced at the tactless words. Buck shrugged. "At least now you're free and can decide in peace what you want to do with your life."

The girl looked up anxiously. Never before in her life had she been completely on her own. The thought terrified her.

Buck slowly went to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Take your time with this decision. Besides, we will need to get back to the ranch first."

María looked uncertainly towards the main building and stiffened. Any other girl would have thrown herself into Mano's arms and would have thanked him that he had freed her of Ramón, Buck thought. But he saw only rejection on María's face. She was probably afraid that she would go out of the frying pan right into the fire. "I'll tell you what," Buck continued quietly. "Why don't you take care of the horses? I'll see to Mano."

María nodded gratefully.

Buck went into the house and woke his friend. The three of them - Buck in the middle, María to his left, Mano to his right - rode back to the High Chaparral. None of them felt like talking, but to their amazement the ride was not as uncomfortable as they had feared. With each step that carried her away from Ramón's grave, María's heart grew lighter. When they arrived at the ranch, she even smiled. And the joy of being reunited with Padre Guillermo and sister Angelica, even with sister Luke, let her forget everything else.

Buck and Mano beat a tactful retreat right after their arrival. They vanished immediately into the house to freshen up. Big John followed them. While Buck bandaged Mano's arm wound again, he told John what had happened. Then he had lunch with Mano in his room upstairs while the rancher couple ate with their guests in the dining room.

After a short siesta it was time to pack. Padre Guillermo and sister Angelica were discussing whether they would be able to take all the belongings and presents they had received from the High Chaparral with them. Buck, Vaquero and Blue meanwhile were loading up the carriage.

"All Right. Very well," the padre commented with satisfaction when all had been stowed and the horse was still standing.

Inside the ranch house Manolito leaned against the wall of the dining room. When María came down from the upper floor, loaded with a stack of books, he walked up to her. "María?"

"Oh, Manolito," she smiled at him. "There is so much to get ready. Did you come to say goodbye?"

"No." Mano shook his head and took half the books from her. "I want you to stay. To be my wife."

María had anticipated this request and had thought about her reply. "Gracias, my Manolito. But you are wrong for what you are thinking. It is not because of all that has happened. Long before I met Ramón it was my wish to be a sister. I do this not because of remorse or guilt but in spite of it."

Mano nodded in disappointment. Buck had been right. "This is what you want and what will make you happy?" he asked.

María beamed at him. "Yes."

"Then it is what I want." Mano smiled bravely. He guessed even he could not compete with God. Taking a deep breath, he nodded towards the door. "Vamonos."

They came just in time. Padre Guillermo had begun to say goodbye to his hosts. He shook hands with Big John. "Thanks to your generosity we are able to ride the Tucson stage all the way to San Francisco. I'm afraid you are right. Apache land is not the best location for a convent."

He also remembered what Don Sebastian had said to him when he had told him about the ruined convent and that they had to start from scratch. The Wheel of Time is turning and we have to _move_ with it. Even if he had not let on that he had understood, Padre Guillermo had bowed to Don Sebastian's wish and had moved on with his nuns. And Buck wanted them to move on as well. He feared that he would have to justify himself every time he felt like visiting a saloon. Besides, it would no longer be fair to Manolito to stay here. To see María and not be able to have her would probably drive him mad. It really was for the best that they left.

Padre Guillermo shook John's hand again. "Vaya con dios y muchas gracias, señor."

"Hasta luego, Padre," the rancher answered.

Padre Guillermo nodded. "Hasta luego."

He went on to Victoria. "Adios, Padre," she said, kissing his hand.

"Adios, hija," he told her. "Adios. Adios, muchacho," he nodded to Blue and Mano respectively.

Buck lifted Padre Guillermo onto the wagon seat. "Vaya con dios, padre," he smiled.

"God go with you, too, Buck," replied the holy man.

Buck grinned at him mischievously. "But padre, I ain't going anywhere."

"Oh." Padre Guillermo laughed. A little tit for tat that Buck had not been able to resist.

The High Chaparral folks waved until the carriage with the nuns and the padre had disappeared in the distance.

xxx

Night had come, and Manolito was still standing on the porch. Victoria took pity on her brother and went to him. "It's late."

Manolito smiled wistfully. "Now the good sisters and Padre Guillermo are on their way to California," he sighed.

"Would you have preferred that they stayed?" Victoria asked.

Mano shook his head. "No."

Victoria squeezed her brother's arm. "Go to bed, Manolito."

Mano gave her a sharp look. "Victoria, you are not my mother, only my sister." He smiled apologetically when he saw that he had hurt his sister who had only tried to comfort him. "I will be along. Don't worry," he told her quietly.

Victoria lowered her head. "All right." She went back into the house, softly closing the door.

Mano looked back up at the sky, raising his glass. "For what little time I had with her- Thank you." He finished his glass of wine, then went into the house as well.

Manolito opened the door to his room and looked around. Victoria had already removed all traces of the visitors. She had dusted the furniture; the room smelled of floor wax; the bed was freshly made. Nothing remained to remind him that María had been here. The room seemed suddenly cold. Manolito closed the door and entered the next room. Buck was already asleep. Mano lay down on the other half of the king-size bed. He clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He sighed.

Buck woke. He turned on his side and looked at his brother-in-law. "She would have always compared you with Ramón, you know. And no matter what you did, you would have lost," Buck told him quietly. "She wanted to get her way, and now she has. Her experience with Ramón is her confirmation that it she will only be happy in the convent."

Mano shook his head in protest. Buck held up a hand. "I'm not saying that she chose Ramón deliberately. But the effect is the same. Look at it this way. God will never accuse her that she takes without giving anything in return. She does not have to show consideration of God's feelings because her God is the way she imagines him to be. She will never be disappointed with him."

"She could have been happy with me," Mano replied stubbornly.

"How long, Mano? Think about why you found her so attractive."

Manolito shrugged his shoulders, feeling at a loss. He found all women attractive so long as they did not look like a scarecrow and did not screech like a harpy. He yawned. It was probably for the best that they returned to their regular life tomorrow. They still had a ranch to measure. And if that was not enough to make him forget about her, Buck would find a way to distract him. He paused. Maybe that was what María hoped to find in the convent. A friend who did not patronize her but simply was there for her. But he still did not understand why she had to enter a convent to look for such a friend. Manolito shook his head in confusion. That was too deep for him this late at night. He closed his eyes. The next moment he had fallen asleep.

13


End file.
